At the beginning of her ODNB entry on Kinkel, Rosemary Ashton
describes her as a "music teacher and exile," but goes on to show that
she was a composer and novelist as well, and altogether highly
talented. Kinkel's second marriage was to (Johann) Gottfried Kinkel
(1815–1882), the professor of art history at the University of Bonn
who became a revolutionary, and whose daring escape from Spandau was
highly publicised in Britain (see also Ashton, 142
Strand, 162). After that the family came to England, where they
mixed in the highest cultural circles and also supported other
refugees. But they did not escape criticism, and life was hard. As
Sabine Freitag says, "Most refugees had to struggle just to stay
alive" (51), and the Kinkels were no exception. Johanna was plagued by
anxiety and depression, also by jealousy of her rather attractive
husband. She died as a result of a fall from a window. It was
probably suicide, though this was not proved. The Kinkels lived in St
John's Wood.

Other views

Photograph and caption by Robert Freidus. Text by Jacqueline Banerjee. Formatting by George P. Landow.
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